Buddleia plant named ‘PODARASNGA1’

ABSTRACT

A new  Buddleia  plant particularly distinguished by prodigious and perpetually blooming, large flowers from the ground all the way to the top on wide panicles, individual flowers are significantly larger than other varieties known to the inventor, and blooms June to frost, is disclosed.

Genus and species: Buddleia x hybrida (Buddleia davidii x B. crispa x B. alternifolia x B. lindleyana).

Variety denomination: ‘PODARASNGA1’.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Buddleia hereinafter referred to by the variety name ‘PODARASNGA1’.

‘PODARASNGA1’ arose from a controlled cross in Jul. 15, 2014 in Davis, Calif. between an unnamed and unpatented Buddleia davidii x B. crispa x B. alternifolia x B. lindleyana female parent, and an unnamed and unpatented Buddleia davidii x B. crispa x B. alternifolia x B. lindleyana male parent. Seeds from the cross were sown in April 2015 and ‘PODARASNGA1’ was selected in August 2015 from the seedling population.

‘PODARASNGA1’ was first asexually propagated in August 2016 in Wasco, Calif. by softwood cuttings. ‘PODARASNGA1’ was found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via softwood cuttings.

SUMMARY

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishing characteristics of this new variety when grown under normal horticultural practices in Wasco, Calif. and Tipp City, Ohio.

-   -   1. Prodigious and perpetually blooming shrub;     -   2. Large flowers from the ground all the way to the top on wide         panicles;     -   3. Individual flowers are significantly larger than other         varieties known to the inventor; and     -   4. Blooms June to frost.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

This new butterfly bush plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographs which shows the plant's overall plant habit including form, fruit, and foliage. The photographs are of a 2-year-old plant taken in August 2018 and grown outdoors in Tipp City, Ohio. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures.

FIG. 1 shows the overall plant habit.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up the foliage, bud, and inflorescences of the plant.

FIG. 3 shows individual inflorescence stems from several Buddleia lines. The top row shows from left to right, ‘PODARASNGA1’, ‘PODARASNGA3’ (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 16/501,303), and ‘R11-54’, a proprietary line. The bottom row shows from left to right, the commercial lines, ‘Nanho Blue’, ‘Pugster Blue’, and ‘Blue Chip’.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘PODARASNGA1’. Measurements were made in Tipp City, Ohio on a 2-year-old plant that has been cut back to the ground at the start of its second season of growth. Color references are to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (R.H.S.) 2007, Fifth Edition.

-   Classification:     -   -   Family.—Scrophulariacace.         -   Botanical.—Buddleia x hybrida (Buddleia davidii x B. crispa             x B. alternifolia x B. lindleyana).         -   Designation.—‘PODARASNGA1’. -   Plant:     -   -   Form.—Shrub.         -   Habit.—Dense spreading.         -   Height (measured from the top of the soil).—168 cm.         -   Width (horizontal plant diameter).—214 cm.         -   Time to produce a finished plant.—2 to 3 months for a             one-gallon finished plant.         -   Outdoor plant performance.—Excellent with good vigor and             dense branching; continuous and plentiful blooms over the             entire exterior of the plant; has new growth obscuring old             spent blooms.         -   Natural flowering season.—June through frost.         -   Time to initiate and develop roots.—5 to 7 days using 1,500             to 3,000 ppm IBA.         -   Root description and habit.—Fibrous and dense.         -   Propagation type.—Softwood cuttings. -   Lateral branches:     -   -   Diameter (from midpoint).—0.2 cm to 3.0 cm.         -   Internode length.—5.0 cm to 7.0 cm.         -   Texture.—Pubescent.         -   Color.—Upper surface: RHS 166A (Greyed-orange) (with             indumentum rubbed off). Lower surface: RHS 146D             (Yellow-green) (with indumentum rubbed off).         -   Strength.—Flexible.         -   Anthocyanin.—Absent. -   Leaves:     -   -   Leaf arrangement.—Opposite.         -   Length.—7.0 cm to 7.5 cm.         -   Width.—1.5 cm to 3.0 cm.         -   Shape.—Simple lanceolate.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Acuminate.         -   Margin.—Subtle irregular serration; serrations are widely             spaced; serration is absent on most of the basal half of the             leaf and more frequent to the tip.         -   Texture.—Upper surface: Sessile stellate hairs mostly 4 to a             cluster sometimes with a glandular body in the center;             clusters of hairs dense and overlapping toward the veins.             Lower surface: Very floccose in interveinal areas and sparse             or absent on the veins.         -   Color, immature.—Upper surface: RHS 136A (Green). Lower             surface: RHS 191C (Greyed-green).         -   Color, mature.—Upper surface: RHS 139A (Green). Lower             surface: 194A (Greyed-green).         -   Venation pattern.—Reticulate.         -   Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 136A (Green). Lower             surface: RHS 191C (Greyed-green).         -   Petiole.—Length: 0.3 cm. Diameter: 0.15 cm. Texture:             Floccose, especially on the lower side. -   Inflorescence (panicle):     -   -   Appearance.—Naked and multiples of individual blooms             arranged on a blunt and tipped conical structure that             eventually becomes a panicle, which are roughly conical in             shape.         -   Height.—11.0 cm to 15.0 cm.         -   Width.—5.0 cm to 7.0 cm.         -   Bud.—Shape: Conical. Height: 1.0 cm. Diameter: 0.5 cm.             Color: RHS 194C (Greyed-green) or RHS 194B (Greyed-green).         -   Flower.—Type and habit: Single and salverform flowers             arranged in compound terminal panicles; flowers face upright             and outward. Fragrance: Sweetly fragrant. Lastingness of             flowers on the plant: 5 to 7 days. Quantity of flowers per             inflorescence (panicle): 200 to 275. Depth: 1.5 cm.             Diameter: 0.9 cm.         -   Petals.—Arrangement: Four arranged in a single whorl with             the petals fused into a narrow tube. Shape: Reniform. Apex:             Obtuse. Base: Truncated and fused to the corolla tube; there             is a distinctive notch and then a miniscule lobe at the             point of fusion to the corolla tube on either side of the             petal. Margin: Crenate. Texture: Upper surface: Smooth.             Lower surface: Longitudinal wrinkles along the entire             length. Length: 0.4 cm. Width: 0.5 cm at its widest point.             Color, immature and mature: Upper surface: Outer edge is RHS             92A (Violet-blue) and RHS 162B (Greyed-yellow) towards the             center. Lower surface: RHS 92A (Violet-blue).         -   Corolla tube.—Length: 1.1 cm. Width: 0.15 cm. Color: Inner             surface: RHS 166C (Greyed-orange). Outer surface: RHS 172A             (Greyed-orange). Texture: Inner surface: Pubescent; dense,             single hairs. Outer surface: Stellate hairs, with 4 to a             cluster.         -   Calyx.—Arrangement and quantity per flower: Four sepals             arranged in a single whorl and fused at the base. Sepals:             Shape: Reniform (for the one quarter top part of the sepal).             Apex: Acute. Base: Fused into a tube (three-quarter lower             part of the sepal). Margin: Undulate. Length: 0.3 cm. Width:             0.095 cm. Texture: Upper surface: Floccose, covered in             clusters of sessile, stellate hairs. Lower surface: Smooth.             Color: Upper surface: RHS N186C (Greyed-purple) at the very             edge of the apex. Lower surface: RHS 191C (Greyed-green)             blending with RHS N186C (Greyed-purple) on sides exposed to             direct sunlight.         -   Peduncle.—Length: 4.5 cm. Diameter: 2.5 cm. Strength:             Strong, slightly pliable, bends but does not snap. Color:             RHS N199B (Grey-brown). Texture: Pubescent, covered with             stellate hairs.         -   Pedicel.—Length: 0.1 cm. Diameter: 0.05 cm. Color: RHS 194B             (Greyed-green). Texture: Pubescent. -   Reproductive organs:     -   -   Stamens.—Quantity per flower: 4. Filament: Length: 0.8 cm.             Color: RHS 157C (Green-white). Anther: Length: 0.2 cm.             Color: RHS 159C (Orange-white). Pollen amount: Moderate.             Pollen color: RHS 159C (Orange-white).         -   Pistil.—Quantity per flower: 1. Length: 0.12 cm. Stigma:             Shape: Oblong with distinct bilateral symmetry; occasional             minute apical protuberance from apex of differing sizes.             Color: RHS 137B (Green). Style: Length: 0.15 cm. Color: RHS             145B (Yellow-green). Ovary: Shape: Ovoid. Length: 0.18 cm.             Width: 0.1 cm. Color: RHS 141D (Green). -   Seed: Can produce a moderate amount of seed if there are other     varieties of Buddleia nearby. -   Disease and insect resistance: Very disease resistant but     susceptible to spider mites in the greenhouse.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTAL LINES AND COMMERCIAL LINE

When ‘PODARASNGA1’ is compared to the female Buddleia parent, an un-named and unpatented line, the female parent has a weeping habit with large flowers, while ‘PODARASNGA1’ has a dense spreading with large flowers.

When ‘PODARASNGA1’ is compared to the male Buddleia parent, an un-named and unpatented line, the male parent has larger individual flowers on very wide panicles when compared to ‘PODARASNGA1’.

When ‘PODARASNGA1’ is compared to the commercial line ‘Lavender Veil’, also known as ‘Hinebud1’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,498), ‘PODARASNGA1’ has a dense and spreading habit and shorter panicles, 11 cm to 15 cm in height, while ‘Lavender Veil’ has a low growing and spreading habit and longer panicles than ‘PODARASNGA1’. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of Buddleia plant named ‘PODARASNGA1’ as illustrated and described herein. 